3D Printing Materials

When we are choosing a material and 3D printing process for different applications, we ensure that our material can deliver under : Biocompatibility, Sterilization capabilities,    Thermal/Heat conductivity, Chemical Resistance, and certifications for Skin contact. At 3D printing Manchester, we subject our materials to rigorous testing in order to determine the kinds of stresses they can endure and the level of taxing environment the material will thrive in. Although the ability of a material to function in the desired application relies partly on design.

Under this requirement, 3D design Manchester considers and focuses on the : dimensional tolerances of materials, minimum feature execution and the material's  wall thickness. When we help our clients create 3D printed designs, we then proceed into giving these designs beautiful and final touches. In a bid to achieve this with the right post-processing of our finished designs. We therefore, check for compatibility between our materials and the necessary post-processing methods before selecting the printing materials.

The quality of 3D printers we have available to us all a wide breadth of plastics to be utilised. The plastics we use in 3D printing Manchester are high performance, engineering-grade materials that exhibit many of the same properties of injection moulded plastics. Each will have certain features and benefit's which may, or may not make it suitable for your 3D design. 

ABS - M30

This is 25-70 stronger than standard ABS (Acrylonitrile Butadiene Styrene) making it ideal for concept modelling. As well as being stronger, they are smoother allowing better feature detail.

ASA

Acrylonitrile Styrene Acrylate is strong and UV resistant and comes in 10 colour choices. It's UV resistance makes it a good choice for outdoor use.

PC-ABC

Superior strength and heat resistance

PLA

Inexpensive hobbyist material useful for quick economical design concepts as it requires less power and heat to print. Comes in 11 colours including transparent.

FDM TPU 92A

For large and complex elastomer parts. The durable flexible properties make it ideal for tubes and vibration dampeners.

Diran 410MF07

Smooth, low friction, tough material - tough enough for tooling, with resistance to hydrocarbon based chemicals

The 3D printing systems we use allow engineering teams to make to make metal parts faster, without the need for special facilities or dedicated operators. With additional smaller print heads new geometries and profiles can be produced. Existing 3D metal printing systems weld parts to supports requiring machining or wire EMD to remove the part. We are able to utilise a ceramic interface layer which disintegrates in the furnace to make it possible to remove support structures by hand, simplifying post-processing significantly. Most metal 3D printing utilises various grades of steel with differing properties.

We also make use of carbon fibre's versatility, because they are rarely used on their own. Here, We combine them with other materials to form composites we can print high-performance prototypes and use-end parts. Carbon fibre reinforced filaments offer stronger, sturdier and lightweight parts. By adding carbon fibre to base materials such as PLA and PETF we are able to create parts that offer strength comparable to titanium but in a much more cost effective manner. These will often perform better than their 3D metal printing.